ECMWF is inviting applications for the post of Director of Research with a starting date of June 2017. The closing date for applications is 7 October.
The Director of Research sets, directs and delivers the strategic objectives of ECMWF’s Research Department, which comprises more than 90 scientists.
“This senior role is an exciting opportunity for candidates with extensive experience in research in areas of the atmospheric sciences that are relevant to the work of the Centre,” ECMWF Director-General Florence Rabier said.
“The ideal candidate will also have experience in the transition from research to operational numerical weather prediction (NWP),” she added.
“One of the key challenges for the new Director of Research will be to find the right balance between continued incremental improvements to the forecasting system on the one hand and the longer-term exploration of innovative approaches on the other.”
“Source of inspiration”
The incumbent, Erland Källén, joined ECMWF in July 2009 from Stockholm University, where he has been a professor of dynamic meteorology since 1996.
Professor Källén says that what attracted him to the Centre was the close connection between cutting-edge research and operational implementation.
“During my entire career at Stockholm University, ECMWF was a constant source of inspiration,” he explains.
“My fascination with meteorology has been centred on the close links between very high-level research, delivering operational forecasts every day, and testing the forecasts against reality.
“That is why, at the university, I used both ideas and problems formulated at ECMWF as a motivation for research, including for my PhD students.”
Professor Källén joined ECMWF in 2009.
Predicting Sandy
Professor Källén says one of the most exciting challenges he has faced is to help ECMWF to maintain its world-leading position in global numerical weather prediction.
“Having seen over my seven years here that our performance has continued to improve is very satisfying,” he says.
“These improvements are the result of targeted research efforts,” he points out.
The Centre’s single achievement of which Professor Källén is most proud is ECMWF’s forecast of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
“We were able to predict the storm more than nine days ahead of the event, and we could show afterwards that this was intricately linked to all the efforts that had been made in data assimilation and model development,” he says.
“What makes such advances so important is that they help to save lives: earlier indications of high-impact weather give countries more time to prepare and to warn their citizens.”
Storms such as Hurricane Sandy can cause extensive damage and the loss of many lives. (Photo: Aneese/iStock/Thinkstock)
New goals
The Centre’s new ten-year Strategy sets ambitious goals which the Research Department will have to help achieve, Professor Källén observes.
The main challenges for the next Director of Research will be “to guide development so that we can achieve the goals of global high-resolution ensemble forecasts; an Earth system approach including coupled data assimilation; and scalability, in other words adapting the forecasting system to the changing architectures of high-performance computers”.
“These are three strands which are enormously important to the future of the Centre,” he says.
ECMWF's strategic goals include improvements in modelling the Earth system in a computationally efficient way. (Image adapted from mrgao/iStock/Thinkstock)
Professor Källén adds, however, that the role of the Director of Research is wider than this.
“The next postholder will also be part of the senior management team and will have to help ensure that ECMWF as a whole will continue to thrive, and to assist the Director-General in achieving all of the Centre’s goals.”
More information
You can download the vacancy notice and find out more about working for ECMWF at Jobs at ECMWF.